If the U.S. is such a free country...

spiritfilledjm said:

Because people confuse freedom with the freedom to do what they want apparently.

Freedom, in the context of America, is freedom to think what one wants, feel how they want, say what they want, believe what they want, without fear of government reprisal against them. Freedom is also the ability to accomplish whatever one wants to set their mind to without being hindered by the law because they're not in the right class of society.

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Great post!

Jay Sea said:

Do people really confusing freedom with the freedom to do what THEY WANT? Is the high incarceration rate not because of a mixture of factors not the least of which is the disparity of true equality of persons due to economic, housing, racial, employment, privileged health and other social necessities and a laziness to use retributional punishment as means for change instead of more universal use of educational and caring means that have been successful and even pioneered in U.S.
In LOve
Jay Sea

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Didn't know that poor people were to stupid to know that selling drugs, participating in human trafficking, murder and stealing are illegal...

America is so free the government can tell you how to arrange your toys in your store.

spiritfilledjm said:

Didn't know that poor people were to stupid to know that selling drugs, participating in human trafficking, murder and stealing are illegal...

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I love your sarcasm. It just came to mind that treating drug use in U.S. as a medical problem might in short term cost more money than encarceration.
In LOve
Jay Sea

pitabread said:

... why is it you guys have the highest incarceration rate in the world?

And especially when it comes to a lot of the supposed freedom loving Southern states (e.g. Texas) which have higher than average incarceration rate relative to the U.S. as a whole?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate

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It's because America locks up so many of the undesirables in our society that we enjoy MORE freedom! We love freedom and people who do bad things must pay the ultimate prices for their misdeeds. And, yeah, sometimes we get a little "over-excited" and just lock people up because they look "wrong", but that's the price of so much freedom.

pitabread said:

... why is it you guys have the highest incarceration rate in the world?

And especially when it comes to a lot of the supposed freedom loving Southern states (e.g. Texas) which have higher than average incarceration rate relative to the U.S. as a whole?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate

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Because we focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation believing that the punishment will act as a deterrent, which it doesn't in most cases.

We also have a history of drug laws used unequally against certain racial groups in this country with punishments unequal to the crime.

pitabread said:

Okay.

But then why does the U.S. apparently put more people* in prisons than any other country?

(* per capita)

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Probably because we can't get enough guns into the hands of the many "good guys with a gun" to keep the peace. Someday every adult American will have a gun they carry everywhere (like a cellphone) and then it will be really, really peaceful here.

Paulos23 said:

Because we focus on punishment rather than rehabilitation believing that the punishment will act as a deterrent, which it doesn't in most cases.

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But it sure does FEEL good, don't it?

We also have a history of drug laws used unequally against certain racial groups in this country with punishments unequal to the crime.

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We can't possibly help it that various groups who stood against the Nixon administration were prone to using so many drugs.

Jay Sea said:

I love your sarcasm. It just came to mind that treating drug use in U.S. as a medical problem might in short term cost more money than encarceration.

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Oh this would be horrible! Americans, when they aren't busy loving freedom day and night, like to take a rest and enjoy some punishment. It just feels good. What fun is freedom if we can't keep someone from having it? I mean if EVERYONE was free then it wouldn't be so special here!

pacomascarot said:

Probably because we can't get enough guns into the hands of the many "good guys with a gun" to keep the peace. Someday every adult American will have a gun they carry everywhere (like a cellphone) and then it will be really, really peaceful here.

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pacomascarot said:

But it sure does FEEL good, don't it?

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Not to me, not anymore. Not since I saw how other countries rehabilitate their criminals instead of locking them up and forgetting about them.

We can't possibly help it that various groups who stood against the Nixon administration were prone to using so many drugs.

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Yup, your right, that is how it started. The problem is we never stopped.

Paulos23 said:

Not to me, not anymore. Not since I saw how other countries rehabilitate their criminals instead of locking them up and forgetting about them.

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And do you see how America leads the earth in "freedom"? Yeah, it's because we are so good at denying freedom to "bad people". It makes our freedom so much sweeter.

Most of the world doesn't know freedom like America. We have SO MUCH we have to spew it around just to reduce the "freedom pressure" that builds up here. But like every good thing which America invented it does require some "maintenance" and part of that includes punishing people for bad deeds. And that punishment can't just stop when the sentence is served. It has to go on a long time.

Yup, your right, that is how it started. The problem is we never stopped.

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Well that's probably because the people who stand against good always end up using a lot of drugs! It's how they get the strength to stand up against all that is good and honorable.

Sure Nixon is gone but good is still around.

pitabread said:

... why is it you guys have the highest incarceration rate in the world?

And especially when it comes to a lot of the supposed freedom loving Southern states (e.g. Texas) which have higher than average incarceration rate relative to the U.S. as a whole?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_incarceration_rate

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The reason why the land of the free is not also the land where there are no laws is because we can abuse our freedoms to hinder the freedoms of others, so true freedom is not the freedom to do whatever we want free of consequences, but the freedom to do what we ought. The goal of good legislatures is not to create laws that hinder our freedoms, but to create laws that enhance them. No one knows better than God how we ought to live, so when it comes to God's law, we must be like violins who trust Him to tie down our strings in order to make music.

BNR32FAN said:

Maybe because more people break the law here.

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If you're ever invHouston, you better do right

Brihaha said:

Many prisons in America are for profit businesses. Elites have always exploited the poor here. Now white collar crime is worse than blue collar crimes. Because there seems to be no accountability for malfeasance any more in America. Personal responsibility has seemingly disappeared too.

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Rape, violent assault, murder are not white collar

Albion said:

Probably because it is one of the freer countries.

If it were tightly run with secret police and electronic surveillance everywhere and a brutal penal system like many dictatorships operate, I am certain that there would be more of a deterrent to crime.

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in a lot of ways there's more freedom in China.